The King Lear Project: Performances and Panel Discussion

Department: Shakespeare Center

Post Date: February 8, 2018

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Directed by Phil Thompson (Drama), this intimate and abridged performance focuses on the text of Shakespeare's vastest tragedy.

Sometimes the emotional weight of a great text can prevent us from really hearing what's being spoken. The actors, the sets and costumes, and we as an audience can become so wrapped up in the feeling of the play, that it's difficult to really attend to what’s being said, and to hear it as if for the first time. For King Lear, a play obsessed with the stripping away of layers of identity and attachment, this is particularly problematic. In this intimate, stripped-down production, we hope to make it possible for audiences to hear the play more simply and immediately.

On Saturday, March 17, Professors Julia Lupton and Elizabeth Allen (English) will lead a panel discussion about King Lear. Sandwiches will be served. Please RSVP to Julia Lupton (jrlupton@uci.edu) for a sandwich. Indicate any dietary issues. Panel will be held in the Contemporary Art Center seminar room, same floor as the xMPL theater.

Philip Thompson is an alumnus of UCI's MFA Acting program. He returned to the faculty in 2001 after several years at the Ohio State University where served as the head of the MFA in Acting program. Phil works as a voice and dialect coach for professional and university productions. Since 1999 he has worked as a resident voice and text coach for the Utah Shakespearean Festival. He has coached at South Coast Repertory, Pasadena Playhouse, OperaPacific, Madison Rep, Weathervane Playhouse, Alabama Shakespeare Festival and numerous productions at the Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. As a master teacher of Fitzmaurice Voicework, teaches in national training workshops across the country. Phil serves on the boards of the Voice and Speech Trainers Association (VASTA) and the University Regional Theatre Association (U/RTA).